My Best Friend Since Forever
by The Silent Hunter
Summary: A quick one-shot based off a challenge I received: 'I married a muggle'.


For as long as I can remember, the boy next door was my best friend. From the time we could walk, we were walking together. My entire childhood was spent with him by my side, standing up to bullies and facing elementary school. In our free time we'd go to the park and play. It was on one of our park trips that we realized I was different.

We were pretending that we were in medieval times; taking turns playing different roles in our epic quest to save the princess. I was pretending to be a sorcerer when the popular girls showed up. He was over on the swing set, battling pirates on a raging sea while I was trying to convince an irate dragon to help us. They made quick work of me; their laughing taunts combined with quick, painful kicks and slaps. As I fell to the ground, I tried to push them away. The next thing I knew, they were flying away from me.

After they ran away, crying and vowing to tell their mothers, he approached me. He told me what he saw; that a strange burst of some sort had come out of my hands to push them back. The look on his face… I thought he was disgusted by me. I ran away.

The next day, I received the letter. Of course I thought it was a hoax, someone obviously trying to make a fool of me. I recycled the letter. Still… what had the other day been about? How had that happened? I was puzzling over this very concept when the door-bell rang. No one else was home; my mother had run out to the store, so I went to peer out the window.

He was standing there, hands shoved in his pockets, just like any other day. I opened the door, still afraid of what he could say. How shocked I was when he just asked if I was coming out to play or not. I don't remember my exact words, but I asked how he could ask that when the incident from the day before was so fresh. He merely shrugged and said, "whatever; they deserved it." Then he looked me in the eye.

"Nothing will ever come between us, right?" Of course, I nodded and agreed, completely relieved. Life went on and I forgot about the letter… that is, until I got a reminder.

It was towards the end of August. This ancient, wizened old man arrived on our doorstep and told me I was magical. He invited me to come to Hogwarts, to learn magic. My parents were ecstatic. I… was numb. My dreams were coming true; I'd be able to learn _magic!_ But… what about my friend? As my parents filled out the paperwork, I went over to his house.

He instantly knew something was wrong; we were so close, even then. He pulled me to his room, shutting the door behind us and sitting me down on his bed. As soon as he was seated beside me, I just let loose, telling him everything.

He sat there, listening, staring at his wall. When I finished, he turned to me, his eyes excited. "You get to learn magic? That's bloody awesome!" I blinked in surprise; I hadn't been expecting that reaction. He smiled and pulled me into a hug. "We'll always be best friends and I won't tell anyone! Just… promise you'll keep in touch." I hugged him back, agreeing.

That September, I began my school life. It was difficult and fun and exciting. But every day I missed him. We wrote each other almost every day. Just little notes, saying we missed each other and encouraging each other to do our best.

I made friends, learned magic, watched others have exciting adventures, and was faced with things I'd only ever dreamed about. Life went on and over the summers, my best friend and I would spend every day together. As time went on, I found myself thinking about him differently, and I could tell from the way I'd catch him looking at me, he was thinking about me differently as well. Our time apart really helped our relationship grow.

When the war began, I almost dropped out of school, just to come back to make sure he was safe. He talked me out of it, telling me that I needed to complete school and that he'd be fine. I reluctantly agreed, despite the fact that we could no longer get in contact with each other. I could only hope and pray that he would be alright.

I was in the battle for Hogwarts. I was there when the Dark Forces threatened to overwhelm us. I was there when my friends and class-mates were killed. I was there when the curse was fired that would permanently blind me. I was there when the war was won.

I was almost forgotten when everyone finally returned to their loved ones. It was only when Hermione, the one witch I felt I could connect the most to, turned back to look at the castle one last time and happened to notice me sitting among the rubble that anyone remembered me. They came back and found me sightless.

The return home was strange; the feel of the train rumbling beneath me and the sounds that assaulted me were new in the fact that I couldn't see. When the train arrived, someone helped me off and onto the platform. As soon as I stepped down, strong arms were wrapped around me, enveloping me in a hug. I recognized those arms, that smell.

"I missed you so much." His voice finally broke the last of my self-control. I gripped him back and began crying, sobbing for all that was lost and how close we had come to losing so much more. But mostly I cried for the fact that I could never again look on his face and see the crinkles around his eyes from his smile.

Every few days, one of my friends comes and performs the counter-curse. It will take time and hundreds of sessions to bring back my sight, but right now, I can see well enough to see him. The crinkles are still there, though the look in his eyes has changed.

No longer does he see me as just his best friend. Now, I am so much more to him, and he is so much more than me. Holding his hands and staring up into his eyes, I suddenly realize that never before have I felt so happy, so content, so loved, than in this moment.

As the pastor recites the final vows and turns to me, I know that this is the right choice. This is who I was always meant to be with. I say the words clearly, strongly, passionately. As he raises the veil, my breath catches and I smile. This was definitely worth waiting for. This was definitely worth fighting for.

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><p><strong>AN: This was based on a challenge I received. I had to write a story that was less than two pages long and had to do with the theme 'I married a muggle'. It was difficult fitting an entire story into two pages, but I kind of like how this turned out. Please leave a comment with thoughts, suggestions for the future, etc. <strong>


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